Why have so many Republicans criticizing GOP National Committeeman Dave Agema for anti-gay comments so quiet about Gov. Rick Snyder fighting for a law banning same-sex benefits?
(Fritz Klug | MLive.com)

In the last year, there's been an admirable number of Republicans willing to stand up to a bigot in their midst.

GOP National Committeeman Dave Agema has managed to offend people far and wide with his wild assertions that gays are akin to alcoholics and they want free health care because they're all dying of AIDS.

However, Agema remains unrepentant and has refused to resign, pompously declaring his foes are following "the devil's way." And many Republican leaders are still making the unlikely case that there's no way to remove the committeeman, despite the damage he's wrought.

Last week, Republicans had another opportunity to strike a blow for gay rights. Gov. Rick Snyder, who's cultivated a reputation as being somewhat moderate, asked a federal judge to uphold a ban on same-sex partner benefits for public employees.

Snyder signed the law in 2011. The governor made the argument that he wasn't trying to discriminate against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. He was just trying to save taxpayers money -- $8 million, in fact.

If that sounds like a stretch, it is. The Civil Service Commission, which oversees state employee issues, was informed that move would save an estimated $600,000.

But that was three years ago. Now more than half of Michigan voters support gay marriage and 75 percent believe LGBT people should be added to our statewide non-discrimination law.

The time would be right for Snyder to let the issue go. Instead, he decided to fight for an anti-gay policy that thrills Dave Agema.

For this reason alone, you'd think the anti-Agema crowd would make some noises about Snyder's anti-gay play. But no one appears to have made a peep.

The truth is that more LGBT people are harmed by Snyder's same-sex benefits ban than by the vile, prejudiced remarks spewing from Agema's mouth.

The governor is denying the same benefits to gay couples that married couples enjoy. He made the decision to sign and fight for public policy that hurts a class of people.

But it's far easier for Republicans to blast Agema than Snyder. Many of Agema's critics have been careful not to come out in favor of gay rights -- they've just said his rhetoric goes too far.

Why is that? Because when it comes to issues like same-sex benefits, they still agree with Agema -- and Snyder. Bolger, after all, shepherded the bill through his chamber, and insultingly coined the phrase "benefits for roommates."

So it's a wonderful step that outright anti-gay bigotry is now considered a no-no in the GOP. But when the rubber hits the road with policy, many Republicans will still vote the same way as Agema did every time.

And our supposedly moderate governor is even willing to waste taxpayer dollars defending a law that hurts LGBT families.

You may rightly ask why Snyder, a self-proclaimed nerd, would do something so foolhardy.

The likely answer is that he cares more about catering to the anti-gay forces, which make up a sizable chunk of the GOP, than doing the right thing.

After all, it is an election year.

Susan J. Demas is Publisher and Editor of Inside Michigan Politics, a nationally acclaimed, biweekly political newsletter. She can be reached at susan@sjdemas.com. Follow her on Twitter here.